Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday that President Trump assured that farmers will not be hurt by an ongoing trade dispute with China, according to a report from The Hill.
Speaking at a town hall discussion in Ohio, Perdue stated that the recently announced Chinese tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. products could be concerning to farmers but noted that the president said they should not worry.
“I talked to the president as recently as last night,” Perdue said. “And he said, “Sonny, you can assure your farmers out there that we’re not going to allow them to be the casualties if this trade dispute escalates. We’re going to take care of our American Farmers. You can tell them that directly.”
However, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the Chinese tariffs could hurt farmers. “The United States should take action to defend its interests when any foreign nation is not playing by the rules or refuses to police itself. But farmers and ranchers should not be expected to bear the brunt of retaliation for the entire country,” Grassley said in a statement.
